Advances in technology have led to the continued miniaturization and increased portability of electronic sensor devices for various applications. One product that has benefited from such technological advances includes non-contact infrared temperature sensors. A typical non-contact infrared (IR) temperature sensor includes an IR sensor head with at least one detector element capable of receiving IR radiation emitted from an object and generating an electrical signal proportional to the IR radiation. The sensor also typically includes a wired connection from the IR sensor head to a data processing unit or to a wireless transmitter. In the case of a temperature sensor with an IR sensor head wired to a wireless transmitter, the transmitter transmits one or more of the IR sensor head reading, ambient temperature, radio frequency (RF) signal strength, and battery condition to a host device. Although the size and portability of this type of non-contact temperature sensor is adequate for some applications, the size of the wireless transmitter and the need for a wired connection between the IR sensor head and the transmitter substantially limit its versatility.
What is needed, therefore, is a non-contact infrared temperature sensor with increased miniaturization that is capable of broadcasting temperature data without a separate wired transmitter. A diagnostic system that includes a display device that wirelessly communicates with the non-contact infrared temperature sensor to display real-time temperature data is also desirable.